MVP for Kono Summit - An Audio Learning App
- Hching Lin
- Feb 12, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 22
Key impact: ✦ Planned, designed, and launched an iOS app in 2 months ✦ Making accessibility a priority early on helped future-proof the app for a broader range of users
Some context before we start
Summit is an audio learning app that helps users digest nonfiction books in just 15–25 minutes. The app targets users aged 25–40 who want to grow in areas like career development, personal reflection, and financial knowledge.
In addition to summarizing books, Summit also supports users who are learning English. Features like translation mode, transcript highlighting, and vocabulary tools help users improve both reading and listening skills.
2 learning styles for 2 types of learners
Summit’s target users are busy, curious learners—but they don’t all behave the same way. To understand their needs, we shaped our MVP planning around two user personas:
Launching our MVP
Home and book intro
Users first land on a homepage showing all available content. Tapping a book takes them to its intro page, where they can either play the full audio or start from a specific track. Track 1 is always free; the rest are unlocked after signing up.
Audio player and audio bar
Our audio player is built for learning. Instead of focusing on visuals like book covers, it highlights the transcript in sync with the audio. A translation toggle helps users switch between languages on the fly.
The audio keeps playing in the background, with a persistent bar for quick access. Users can touch and hold any word to view a dictionary modal and add it to their personal vocabulary list.
Vocabulary list
Users can open the dictionary modal via touch and hold, and add any word to their vocabulary list. Words added to the list appear underlined in the transcript. Users can manage their list through the menu and remove words anytime by tapping the heart icon again.
The vocabulary modal is reused across both the player and the word list to keep interactions consistent.
Advocating for accessibility
Because Summit is an audio-first app, I anticipated potential use cases from visually impaired users and advocated strongly for designing with accessibility in mind.
Although there was initial hesitation from stakeholders—who assumed visual design wasn’t as important—I pushed for a more inclusive approach and was able to get buy-in. From color choices to contrast, accessibility became a key part of our design process.
We followed WCAG 2.1 standards throughout. Text colors (primary blue #00BFBF and dark navy #04122C) passed level AAA contrast ratios, while graphical elements used combinations with at least a 3:1 ratio, often higher.
Tabs and navigation were tested with colorblind filters, ensuring clarity even in achromatopsia mode.
We also provided descriptive alt text and VoiceOver-friendly labels for screen reader users. Making accessibility a priority early on helped us future-proof the app for a broader range of users—and gave the team a stronger foundation for future features.
Setting the stage for what’s next
The MVP launch marked a strong start for Summit. With a clear focus on accessibility, thoughtful feature prioritization, and a design tailored to different learning styles, we laid a solid foundation for future growth.
As more content and user feedback rolled in, the team was well-positioned to keep evolving the experience and expanding what Summit could offer.
